St Thomas Church

About the event

(London, 8th June 2017), Duddell’s, Hong Kong’s, acclaimed social and cultural destination brand is coming to London for the first time this autumn. To mark its launch the space will be previewed with a pop-up exhibition, from 20th June until 15th July at Borough’s St Thomas Church, the site of the new restaurant.
Inaugurating Duddell’s vibrant art programme in the capital city will be new work by Hong Kong-based artist, Nadim Abbas. His work explores technologies of perception, culminating in the construction of complex set pieces where objects exist in an ambiguous relationship with their own image, and bodies succumb to the seduction of space.
Premiering at Antenna Space, Shanghai in late 2016, Nadim Abbas’s sculptural installation will bring new life to the unique former church site. In Human Rhinovirus 14, Abbas employs open-source modelling programs to build a visual mock-up of the eponymous virus—also known as the common cold—and projects it onto several beach balls floating in the air. The physiological effect of catching a cold is familiar to everyone, yet each of the balls, which are kept floating at fixed points by centrifugal blower fans (a popular method of demonstrating Bernoulli’s principle in fluid dynamics), and the abstract imagery of the enlarged virus seem stranger than ever. The artist superimposes these threads to offset the seemingly solid rampart that marks the antagonism between the real and its phantasms.
“Duddell’s London is thrilled to be presenting our arts programme for the first time in the UK, reflecting the brand’s ongoing commitment towards global initiatives. Duddell’s prides itself on curating quality contemporary art events and we are excited to bring work from one of Hong Kong’s leading artists, Nadim Abbas, in what will be our inaugural London exhibition.” says Kylie Ying, co-host for the opening event.

Duddell’s in Hong Kong was conceived to create a cultural and social destination for people with an appreciation for the arts, providing an inspiring backdrop where people could meet, eat, drink and socialize while surrounded by museum quality year-round art exhibitions.
Duddell’s London will be the brand’s first restaurant outside of Hong Kong, opening in the Autumn within the historic St Thomas’ Church in Southwark, serving modern yet authentic Chinese cuisine. Works on the restaurant will begin once the exhibition closes.